Impregnated scouring pad



United States Patent I D IMPREGNATED SCOURING PAD William J. Maxcy, Easton, Pa., and Herbert L. Sanders, Phillipsburg, N. J., assignors to General Aniline & Film Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware No Drawing. Application December 30, 1949, Serial No. 136,160

1 Claim. (Cl. 252-91) This invention relates to an improved impregnated scouring pad.

More specifically the invention relates to a foam-forming, non-curd-forming scouring pad capable of brightening aluminum comprising steel wool or the like metal, a binding agent and a foam-forming synthetic detergent. Specifically this composition may contain additionally a stabilizing agent, a rust inhibitor, a mold inhibitor, a coloring agent and a filler.

The synthetic detergent may be any surface-active material other than soap which contains an RCOY grouping. The R represents an aliphatic chain containing from 11 to 17 carbon atoms which may be interrupted by either ester or ether linkages. The Y may be O(CH2)2SOaNa, SOsNa or I l-(CH2): S OaNa Thus, the sodium salt of oleic isethionate has the formula:

o11H3r-ii0orr2or2s03Na The sodium salt of oleic methyl tauride has the formula:

CH3 C11H33Ol I-OH2CH1SO Na Sodium lauryl sulfate has the formula:

C11H2sCH2OSO3Na The following classes of synthetic detergents contain such a grouping and have been shown to be capable of producing a polished surface on aluminum:

Salts of sulfated or sulfonated esters of fatty acids R--COOCH2CH2SO3H RCO-OCH2CH2OSO3H Salts of sulfated or sulfonated amides of fatty acids RCONHCH2CH2SO3H R-CONH-CH2CH2OSO3H Salts of sulfated vegetable oils RCHOH R-C O-(glycerol or OH) R-COOCH2--CHOHCHzOSOaH R-C H=OHOHR-C O-(glycerol or OH) Sulfonates of esters of polycarboxylic acids dioctyl sulfo succinate Alcohol sulfates ROSO3H Fatty acid sarcosides R-C O-NCH2C O OH CH3 Fatty acid esters of sorbitan and the polyoxyethylene derivatives of the same 2,733,211 Patented Jan. 31, 1956 and ethylene oxide derivatives.

Fatty acid polyglycol esters R-CO(OCzH4)1tOH Tall oil polyglycol esters tall oil CO (OC2H4)nOH Fatty acid polyglycol amides R-CO--NH(CzH4O)nH Fatty acid alkylolamine condensates R-CO-(NHR-OH) Alkyl aryl sulfonates, alkyl naphthalene sulfonates, alkyl sulfonates, alkyl polyethers and alkyl aryl polyethers do not fall in this category and are not included as the important polishing ingredients. They may, however, be added as bulk detergents.

The binding agent may be any film-forming material of which the following are typical examples:

Flours Starches Starch products suchas dextrins Sugars Natural gums such as gum arabic Proteinaceous vegetable materials such as alginates, and

corn gluten Animal proteinaceous material such as egg albumin Cellulose derivatives such as the sodium salt of carboxymethylcellulose and methyl cellulose Waxes such as parafiin Wax and beeswax Synthetic water-soluble materials such as polyethylene oxides or polyvinyl alcohol The stabilizing agent may be selected from those materials commonly used to prevent retrogradation of starch solutions, such as urea and dicyandiamide.

The rust inhibitor may be selected from the numerous materials commonly known to be efiective for preventing the rusting of iron, such as sodium carbonate, sodium phosphate, borax, sodium chromate and sodium nitrite.

The mold inhibitor may be selected from those materials commonly known to inhibit mold growth such as pentachlorphenol, phenol, 8-hydroxyquinoline and formaldehyde.

The coloring agent may be any material which would give a pleasing color to the scouring pads.

The filler material may be any cheap finely divided or water-soluble material such as clay, silica, lava, gypsum, Whiting, wood flour or nutshell fiours.

The steel wool is that form of fibrous steel which is commonly used for scouring purposes.

Example 1 1500 parts by weight of water were poured into a suitable vessel. 850 parts of corn dextrin were added and dispersed evenly throughout the solution. The mixture was then heated to C. on a steam bath and held at this temperature for about 10 minutes during which time the dextrin swelled slightly, forming a slightly viscous solution. parts by weight of the sodium salt oleic isethionate were then added. The mixture was then stirred at 85 C. until homogeneous.

The mixture at this point was slightly cloudy but quite fluid. A loose ball of steel wool was placed in the bottom of a metal cylinder. The heated composition was poured over the steel so as to completely cover it. By means of a close-fitting metal rod, the excess composition was squeezed out of the pad. A compact pad completely impregnated with the above composition was formed. This pad was dried in an oven at 85 C. It was found to foam well when wet with water, to form a high polish on aluminum when applied as in scrubbing, and finally to have no visible effect on the foam of synthetic dishwashing detergents when dipped into solutions of these materials.

Example If Identical to Example I except that 150 parts of the sodium salt of oleic methyl tauride' were added in place of the sulfonated ester used in Example 1.

Example HI Identical to Example I except that 150 parts of sodium lauryl sulfate were added in place of the sulfonated ester used in Example I.

Example IV 1500 parts by weight of Water were poured into a suitable vessel, 186 parts of urea were added and dissolved. When the urea had dissolved completely, 650 parts of corn dextrin were added. When the dextrin dispersed evenly The mixture at this point was slightly cloudy but quite fluid. A loose ball of steel wool was placed in the bottom of a metal cylinder. The heated composition was poured over the steel so as to completely cover it. By means of a close-fitting metal rod, the excess composition was squeezed out of the pad. A compact pad completely impregnated with the above composition was formed. This pad was dried in an oven at 85 C. It. was found to foam well when wet with water, to form a high polish on aluminum when applied as in scrubbing to resist rusting when wet with water as long as some impregnation material was left on the pad and finally to have no visible elfect on these materials.

We claim:

An improved scouring pad comprising steel wool impregnated with a soap-free. mixture of 150 parts by weight of the sodium salt of oleic isethionate and 850 parts by weight of corn dextrin.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 642,329 Higgins Jan. 30, 1900 1,932,180 Gucnther et all Oct. 24, 1933 1,968,794 Bertsch July 31, 1934 2,240,114 Field Apr. 29, 1941 2,342,563 Tucker Feb. 22, 1944 2,401,726 Flett June 11, 1946 2,466,826 Romaine Apr. 12, 1949 2,483,135 Goldsmith Sept. 27, 1949 

